The Shadow Underneath
by Lorettaking
Summary: Based off of a H.P Lovecraft story I read not too long ago, this is a AU Brittana fic. Santana Lopez is an FBI Agent trying to crack a notorious case concerning the obscure town of Miskatonic and the stakes may be higher than anyone could have imagined.


Haven't been able to concentrate on much the past few weeks so I decided to take up an old project I had lying round to help get my creative juices flowing. Might continue this but who knows. I've heard this community can be pretty intense so jsyk this is my first Brittanaesque fic. Feedback would be amazing.

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><p>An unseasonably cold wind cut through the decrepit bay town of Miskatonic, rattling the branches of the leafless trees that lined the avenues. The towns silence was broken only by an the purr of an engine as a sleek car wound through the narrow streets. The car came to an abrupt stop in front of what appeared to be the town's sole motel, its flickering lights and worn exterior matching the buildings on either side of it. A woman smoothly exited the vehicle casually making her way into the establishment, checking her surroundings before fully entering. A leather jacket adorned her slight frame and she walked with an air of authoritative arrogance that one had to be born with.<p>

Arriving at the unattended front desk she swept her dark eyes around the room, the faulty lights making her tan skin look much paler. A wheezy man appeared abruptly behind the front desk, wearing an anxious smile above a crooked bolo tie. "He-Hello miss is there anything I can help you with?" He asked petulantly, clearly appraising the woman with his beady eyes. She in turn raised an eyebrow at his appearance and stepped forward, removing her wallet from a jacket pocket.

"Mariana Santiago, a room for one thanks." She murmured smoothly placing the appropriate sum upon the counter, "Oh and a place to drink if you can point me in the right direction." She added with a smirk. The clerk nervously took out the register with a quick nod. Taking quick glances at the woman as he nodded again.

"There is a ah, a bar down on the waterfront.. Although." He paused looking up at the woman quickly, "It can be dangerous for pretty young ladies on their own." The woman raised an eyebrow and shook her head with a sharp laugh.

"Yeah I think I'll be alright buddy but thanks for the tip. Just make sure I have a room." She said as she walked away, making her way back to her car. The vehicle quickly disappeared from sight leaving only a dazed clerk standing under the flickering motel lights.

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><p>Santana Lopez found herself at a bar down by a rotting boardwalk surrounded by locals. She hated these cases, the ones that really reminded her of some sort of Stephen King novel. Though glancing around at the residents of the bar she was starting to think more along the lines of H.P Lovecraft. She had had to use an alias back at the hotel due to National Security and whatever FBI shit she had to deal with, but now she just saw it as another way to make sure that once she left this town none of these freaks would ever really know who she was. Santana was no longer surprised that this place was the center of a huge rash of disappearances, so many that the Bureau had been studying this case for years.<p>

The most frustrating part of this case was that there was absolutely no evidence pointing to where they could have gone. Not to mention there was no motive and no connecting factor with any the victims. Santana wasn't the first Agent to come to this town and she hoped that she might be the last, the case of Miskatonic Township was notorious among the people of the Bureau. It was probably because of this that she had been the only one who had wanted to take the case. The thing with this case was that over the many years it had been investigated and people continued to disappear; a few of the missing had been Government Agents. Santana had called all her fellow members of the Bureau superstitious and paranoid for not wanting to take the case due to its bad reputation but now… Now she wasn't so sure.

She eyed her bar mates uneasily as she took the last swig of her beer. Their pale faces and unblinking eyes were starting to make her think she was lined up to be the victim of a serious mugging. These people, there was something off with them. She didn't know if it was the back water in-breeding or what but there was something downright unnatural about their faces. Sighing she paid the check and quickly made her way outside, looked like this case was going to be a little bit harder when it seemed as if every inhabitant of the town was a possible suspect.

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><p>At her motel room Santana stood at her window looking out at the surprisingly good view she was given from there. Well, good wasn't exactly the right word. From here she could see the bay and beyond that the open ocean, unfortunately the scene was marred by a scar like protrusion. A jagged black rock, almost a mile long situated itself not far from the bay facing the town. Its rugged exterior seemed to be riddled with caves but she couldn't really tell in the lighting. It was an impressively sinister object for such a mundane setting. After a few moments of gazing out at the island Santana turned her back on the window with a frown. She didn't like this Twilight Zone vibe one bit, it didn't bode well with the investigation.<p>

Santana had faced many difficult cases, some more disturbing than others. She had dealt with a few serial killers, gang violence and drug cartel politics so compared to that this was nothing. At least that was what she had figured as she had read the files back in the comfort of her own office. Right now she was wondering if the walls of her hotel room weren't built out of human bones. With a shrug Santana simply settled herself down onto the small bed in the middle of the room, she was clearly letting the suspicions of her co-workers finally get to her. Santana Lopez was so much better than that; she wasn't one of the top agents at the Bureau because she got spooked one last glance at the now curtained window Santana got ready to pore over the files once more. It was going to be a long night.

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><p>The next morning Santana decided to thoroughly canvas the surrounding areas. Considering an exorbitant amount of people from these areas were among the disappeared it could shed some light on the circumstances. Besides, Santana totally rocked the technical, meticulous aspect of her job. Oh and the part where she ran criminals down like animals, but that was probably going to have to wait. She had gotten up rather early that morning, having slept restlessly. She had been plagued by dreams that starred strange amphibian creatures that wanted to drag her to the rocky chain out beyond the bay.<p>

A particularly disturbing nightmare as it had been especially vivid. As Santana drove out of town she noticed that there were a lot of people out and about. Santana could have passed this off as a fishing town thing but most of them just seemed to be loitering, almost watching her leave. In the light of day, the citizens of Miskatonic seemed doubly repulsive. Now Santana wasn't going to deny that she was supremely shallow- but even for her normal level of repulsion this was downright horrific. "Something in the water." She murmured absentmindedly as she continued to pass the townspeople. Water, just like the bay- the stuff surrounding those black rocks. Shaking her head slightly she sighed as she finally passed out of the town, almost feeling the gazes following the vehicle.

Pulling into the decidedly cheerier town of Bailey, Santana felt herself relax slightly, here she knew what she was doing. Driving around the town she spotted a cozy café filled to the brim with people. Santana smirked to her self, where there were people there was gossip and right now that was just what she needed. Strutting into the café she took a seat by at the almost wall length windows looking out on the street. Someone came to take her order quickly and unlike the people of Miskatonic, had a perfectly normal aspect as well as a basic grasp of the concept of hospitality.

Settling down she scanned the café, in the corner sat a group of old men whispering over their coffee mugs. Santana smiled at the irony, she needed information on some creepy disappearances within an equally creepy town and lo and behold a trio of wise old men who seemed ripe with gossip stood before her. Shifting in her seat she decided she would wait, taking time to scope out the feel of this town which was in such contrast to it's neighbor. The two towns sat very close, it had taken a mere fifteen minutes to get from one town to the other and yet it seemed like a different country. Glancing again at the old men in the corner she was mildly surprised to notice that she had attracted some attention. Two out of the three were staring at her intently, as if they knew her and were trying to place her features. Raising her eyebrow Santana was about to comment on the staring when she heard a voice over her shoulder.

"Don't worry about those guys, they don't trust out of towners." Turning quickly Santana was met with a pair of blue eyes that took her breath away, Santana was a sucker for clear eyes. Blinking a few times she got a better look at the speaker, a tall blonde with a kind face which was at the moment wearing a bemused grin. "Your coffee?" Santana became suddenly aware that this girl was a waitress and in her hand was the mug of coffee she had ordered.

"Right, thanks." She said as she hastily grabbed the cup and sat it down cursing herself inwardly for getting so distracted. Another thing Santana Lopez didn't do was get distracted on the job, even if the distraction was absolutely gorgeous. Speaking of, this suddenly seemed a good opportunity to get information on Miskatonic. "So you're telling me those guys just stare down anyone who isn't from these parts? Can't be good for business." The girl - who was apparently called Brittany if her name tag was anything to go by- smiled slightly and leaned forward almost conspiratorially.

"Well you can never be too sure around here. You know, with the fish people." Santanas eyes widened as Brittany uttered "fish-people". Frowning Brittany nodded, "Or I guess you don't know. Sort of a local thing." She explained as if it was perfectly natural to talk about fish people, "So where you coming from stranger?"

Santana stared at the tall girl for another moment before deciding that she would let it pass. She had heard stranger words come from peoples mouths. "I'm coming from Ohio, just doing some um, research for a book I'm writing. I'm staying in Miskatonic." She answered with a small smile, a smile that slowly faded as she noticed the look that had come across Brittany's face when she mentioned Miskatonic. Chuckling uneasily Santana continued speaking,"Are you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost-"

"You have to leave." Stated the blonde, her face pale and drawn.

"Excuse me I have to what?" Was she being kicked out of this cafe because she'd talked about the stupid town?

"Leave Miskatonic. You can't stay, they'll get you." she said urgently.

Now she was even more confused, "Who'll get me?"

Brittany took a deep breath and glanced around the cafe before leaning in to whisper something into Santana's ear, "The fish people will get you. They come out at night and steal people away- They'll take you to the rock. You have to leave-" Brittany's frantic whispers were cut off suddenly as one of the old men from the back table called out for another order of coffee. Nervously pulling back Brittany's eyes were the only part of a now smiling face that hinted at the fear she was feeling. Santana stared after the blonde as she made her way back into the kitchens, feeling deeply disturbed at the waitresses sudden change in mood. Looking back at the trio of old men she noticed taht they were all staring at her now and with a speculative intensity that had her thinking they knew what Brittany had told her.

"Pay the girl no mind, she can get a little dumb sometimes- Says silly things." Said one of the old men suddenly, a casual smile on his face as if he were sharing a joke. "She's never really outgrown those silly make believe games." He continued with a chuckle as he turned back to his friends. Santana gazed at them wondering why it was he had felt the need to speak, why his smile had seemed so forced. Nobody had to tell her that fish-people were a fantastic make believe story the poor waitress had decided to share with her- but Santana was reminded of her dreams. Of the amphibious creatures which had dragged her under the black waves, and suddenly she felt uneasy. Unnaturally so, maybe she would have been fine if it hadn't been for the old mans sudden addition to the conversation. Sitting back against her chair and looking out at the streets it dawned on her yet again that this case was certainly going to a hard nut to crack.

"


End file.
